Back in October, France announced that their LG Optimus G would receive Android 4.4 as early as October. Considering KitKat’s release date was only October 31, that was preposterous. Still, it seems like the Optimus G will still be one of the first devices to receive the 4.4 update – at least in Estonia. LG’s Facebook page in Estonia announced that Optimus G customers of Elisa, the second largest carrier in the country, will begin receiving Android 4.4 today.

No word on when Optimus G owners outside of Estonia will receive KitKat, or when the higher-end LG G2 will receive 4.4.

Update: Unfortunately the information on LG’s Facebook page was untrue and LG reached out to us with the following statement…..

Today, a press release by LG and Qualcomm confirmed that the successor to the LG Optimus G series devices will utilize Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processors, the industry’s most advanced chipset at this time. This new addition will provide the device with stunning performance, rich graphics, and outstanding battery efficiency. The Snapdragon 800 processor is also designed to allow LTE to be even faster by maximizing spectrum bandwidth to increase data speeds and reduce latency. This is some pretty exciting news for the upcoming device— anyone thinking of going and grabbing one at launch? Check out the full presser after the break. Read more

Another image of LG’s mysterious new device has made its way onto the internet today. This one comes courtesy of the infamous @evleaks twitter account and shows the device’s almost non-existent bezel. While nothing can be for certain, this is almost definitely the same device we got a glimpse of last week. It is probably safe to assume this is LG’s follow up to the Optimus G, although some more excitable folks believe it to be the next Nexus device.

Regardless of what it is, it is shaping up to be a gorgeous device with a very minimal design. We’ll be sure to keep you posted as we learn more, and don’t forget to hit the break for last week’s image in case you missed it.

A new filing with the Bluetooth Special Interest Group for a new LG device may point the way to the successor to the LG Optimus G. The new device carries the model name LS980, which seems to be consistent with LG devices headed for the Sprint network. Some digging on the Sprint site yielded a build.prop info page for the LS980 indicating the device will run Android 4.2.2 and has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 MSM8974 chipset. The Snapdragon 800 is not scheduled to be available until later this year, so the release of this device may be timed to hit the holiday shopping season.

The Sprint page also reveals the LS980 will have a 1920×1080 screen, so it will likely be capable of displaying full 1080p HD video. The device will have 2GB of RAM and carries 32GB of onboard memory. However, it does not look like it will support an external microSD card for additional memory. A rear-facing camera is listed at 13MP and capable of recording full 1080p HD video. All of these specs are consistent with earlier information discovered in some AnTuTu benchmark scores for a new LG device.

Not too long ago Sprint began updating its version of the Optimus G to Jelly Bean, and AT&T looks to be following suit. It’s almost a month late, but hey, better late than never. AT&T hasn’t officially announced the update, but many members on the carrier’s own community forums are beginning to receive the update, so it’s definitely happening. The update comes in at 336 MB and brings your device up to Android 4.1.2, Build E97020j. Anyone receiving that coveted update on their Optimus G yet?

Sometimes, a customer doesn’t want to go with one of the big name carriers like Sprint or Verizon. Smaller MNVOs are popular alternatives to the larger (usually contract-centric) carriers. Both options have their place with consumers, but in many situations, MNVOs don’t have a good enough device selection to sway as many costumers. Well, Sprint is looking to give them a hand with a new program that will allow MNVOs to modify certain Sprint handsets to resell to customers. Read more

If you’re the owner of a Sprint Optimus G, you’ll want to keep an eye out for the 4.1.2 update that Sprint has announced it will be pushing to your device. You’ll get Google Now, expandable notifications, and all the other awesome features in Jelly Bean. Now we just have to wait and see if AT&T’s Optimus G gets the same treatment anytime soon. Hit the source below to get a full list of new features in the update.

LG’s Optimus G is the company’s current flagship device, but it hasn’t had much global market penetration so far. Not too long ago, LG announced they were moving to release the device in more markets, and it looks like they’re following up on that. Several European countries are confirmed to be getting the device starting this month, with Sweden leading the launch, followed by Italy, France, and Germany. This global release should definitely help device sales, which have already passed the million mark.

While the Optimus G isn’t going to be quite as impressive after the next batch of devices come to market in the next few months, but it’s still a solid device with a 4.7 inch HD screen and a Snapdragon S4 processor. Anyone plan on picking up one of these with the Optimus G Pro release so close? Read more

Sources claim a new, larger version of the LG Optimus G Pro that was announced last month is on its way to Mobile World Congress 2013. Last month NTT DoCoMo announced the availability of an upgraded LG Optimus G sporting a 5″ full HD display and a nice 3,000 mAh battery. That device was dubbed the LG Optimus G Pro and followed on LG’s popular Optimus G smartphone. In spite of that recent announcement, there were still rumors circulating that LG had a 5.5-inch device in the works as well. Read more

LG announced today they are going to expand sales of the LG Optimus G into 50 new markets this month. The new markets will join the United States, Canada, Korea, and Japan, all of which already have access to the device. LG hopes the Optimus G will be considered an “ultimate premium 4G LTE smartphone.” While the device does sport some nice hardware, including a Snapdragon S4 quad-core processor, we did not find it was enough to land atop some other leading phones in the U.S. market. Still, buyers have been receptive to the Optimus G as indicated by their recent announcement that they had sold 1 million units. Google also thought enough of the Optimus G to use it as the base for the Nexus 4.